Field
The disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for locating movable objects and more particularly to systems and methods that use dead reckoning techniques to locate movable objects such as wheeled carts.
Description of the Related Art
A variety of methods has been used to determine the position of an object in a tracking area. For example, a radio frequency (RF) transmitter or tag can be attached to the object, and one or more receivers in the tracking area can monitor tag transmissions to determine object position. However, such methods are disadvantageous if the tracking area is large, which requires installation of many receivers, or if the tracking area contains structures that attenuate the tag transmissions. Other methods utilize a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS, e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS)) to determine position. However, GNSS methods can fail if the GNSS signal is blocked or if the visibility of satellites is interrupted. Further, both GNSS systems and RF tag and receiver systems can be expensive and difficult to implement.